


Growing Pains

by Tadfish



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: EVERYONE IS FRIENDS THOUGH, Gen, I did make Lloyd cry, Kai is a bit of an asshole, Light Angst, Lloyd needs therapy and also a break, Season 2, This takes place directly after the events of Child's Play, im sorry nya isnt here she's too competent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26860996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tadfish/pseuds/Tadfish
Summary: Lloyd Struggles to adapt to his new body and growing responsibilities after the effects of Tomorrow's Tea.
Relationships: Cole & Lloyd Garmadon & Kai & Jay Walker & Zane
Kudos: 50





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> I did not think I would get this invested in this show but once this concept gripped me there was nothing I could do. I watched 2 seasons in 2 days, took a break to write this fic, then watched another 3.5 seasons in another 2 days. I drew a lot on the trans experience for this fic but no one is explicitly trans.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

He had to do it, it was the only way to save the ninjas and stop the Grundal. As they left the comic shop, he turned down the latest issue of Starfarer. Comic books were for kids, and he wasn't a kid anymore... right?  
Lloyd couldn't sleep that night. All he could do was lay in bed and feel the way his hands weren't where they were supposed to be. The way his knees bent somewhere new. How wrong everything felt. His own body was foreign to him and there was no way to fix it. 

\-------

Lloyd got up bright and early (not like he was sleeping anyway) because he was the green ninja and he needed to train. Even brushing his teeth felt weird; his fingers gripped harder without him meaning to and his arms weren't moving right. How long would it take to get used to this body that was so much bigger than he was supposed to be ~~and still too small to fight his father~~. He left his room and was surprised at how hard the door slammed behind him. He hadn't meant to do that. 

Jay was walking past on the way to the training deck, "Geez Lloyd, what did that door ever do to you?" he chuckled.  
"Sorry," Lloyd said sheepishly, "It uh, was an accident. I guess teenage me is a lot stronger than ten-year-old me."  
"Well that's awesome! Sounds like you're gonna be kicking some major butt now!"  
Lloyd smiled, “That’s the plan, isn’t it?” Yeah, this was good. He was definitely stronger and faster, and being bigger means he can hit harder. This had to be what destiny had in store for him. 

Despite his early rise, Lloyd and Jay were the last two on the ship's deck.  
"I know Jay takes forever in the morning-"  
“Hey!”  
“-But were you sleeping in or something?" Cole asked.  
"Actually, I couldn't sleep," Lloyd said.  
"Why not?" Zane asked, "You need your rest to function optimally."  
"It's just, I..." he was suddenly acutely aware of how little the others would understand. "I don't know, things were just weird."  
“Well,” Kai said, “Don’t think that means we’ll go easy on you.”  
“Of course not,” he replied with a smile that projected far more confidence than he had. But after a moment the smile became more genuine. It would be fun to test the limits of his new strength and speed, especially if his elemental powers scaled with them.  
As they started training, he was even more clumsy than usual; it was frustrating for all of them, and Lloyd’s frustration only made it more difficult for him to keep his focus. Wasn’t he supposed to be better at this now?  
They took a break about an hour in and Lloyd sat on the deck. He was more tired than he felt like he should be.  
“You okay?” Cole sat next to him, “It seems like you’ve been having kind of a hard time.”  
“I’m trying my best,” Lloyd snapped.  
“Woah,” a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice, “You don’t have to snap at me I’m just trying to make sure you’re doing alright!”  
“Well I’m fine, so just- leave me alone, okay!” and he got up and stormed off to his room. He couldn’t even explain why he was so mad he just- was.  
Cole stared after him perplexed.  
“So, uh. Who wants to go get him when break’s over?” 

\--------

Sensei Wu gave Lloyd some personal training exercises over the next few days, instead of having him train with the ninjas. Wu knew Lloyd was having trouble adjusting to himself and things like stretching and meditation would help him learn his own body faster than fighting would. And it worked! Not perfectly, of course, but how could anyone adjust to something so drastic so quickly? At least he wasn’t hitting his elbows on every other door frame anymore. It was three days later and he was finally ready to train with the ninjas again. It went much better this time, and as he jumped, kicked, whipped around, and spun through their onslaught, weaving and dodging with natural instincts that were finally working with instead of against his body, he felt happy for the first time since he’d gotten doused with the Tomorrow’s Tea. When his blows connected with the ninjas he could send them flying, and it felt like none of them could knock him down. He finally felt like he could really be the chosen one.  
Until Kai managed to sweep his legs out from under him and his back hit the floor, knocking the wind out of him. A reminder he wasn’t actually invincible, even if he’d felt like it for a moment.  
“Ha!” Kai gloated, but he offered his hand to help Lloyd up.  
Lloyd smiled and took the hand, getting back to his feet.  
“That was amazing, Lloyd!” Zane said, “You’re moving completely differently from a few days ago!”  
“Yeah,” Jay said, “That was like, super awesome! You might even be stronger than Cole!”  
“Hey, let’s not get hasty,” Cole said, “But yeah, that was pretty good.”  
“We shouldn’t celebrate yet, he’s still not gonna be enough to beat Lord Garmadon,” Kai pointed out.  
“What, cause you got a lucky shot?” Cole asked, “It’s not like you could beat Lord Garmadon.”  
“Yeah, you’ve tried!” Jay chimed in.  
“So what?” Kai asked, “That was awhile ago. Everyone makes mistakes.”  
“I don’t,” Zane said, “As a robot, I am infallible.”  
“Can we just get back to training?” Lloyd asked, “Instead of just standing around talking about who can and can’t beat my dad? None of us are gonna be able to if we don’t train more.” 

\-----

Being a teenager was weird. People treated him with a lot more respect than they ever did when he was a kid. They took him seriously. Even the ninjas treated him differently; he was pretty sure they didn’t notice, but he did. They listened when he talked and took his ideas seriously. He still wasn’t allowed to respond to missions but now it was because he was “too important” instead of too young or too weak or too inexperienced. Which always seemed weird to him, how was he supposed to get more experience if he wasn’t ever allowed to do anything? The ninjas were away on a mission right now and for once he was kind of glad for that. He liked them, but they could be a lot and he found himself appreciating his alone time a lot more after what happened. Maybe it was just the adjustment, or maybe it was just how he was as a teenager. It was still too early to tell. The meditation exercises Sensei Wu had taught him were really helpful, especially when his body stopped feeling like it was his own. Even though he’d mostly gotten used to it, it still hit him sometimes, the feeling that his skin was simultaneously too loose and too tight. The feeling that when he traced his hand down his arm he was touching a stranger. The way he wasn’t used to his hair brushing against his neck. He wondered if it would ever go away, or if the phantom of it would haunt him forever for the crime of growing up wrong. 

“Hey Lloyd! The fight was a piece of cake, it took like no time at all!” Jay said  
The ninjas got back sooner than he was expecting and it threw him a little off balance. “Oh!” he looked up from his meditation, “That’s great!”  
“Yes,” Zane said, “Now we can get back to what is truly important: training you!”  
“Don’t think you can just sit around,” Cole said, “Come on, get up and get over here.”  
So Lloyd got up. He felt- off, emotionally, and he knew he wasn’t in top condition but he needed to train anyway, especially since there’s no guarantee what kind of state he’d be in facing his father. That stopped seeming like a good argument when he got kicked in the face half a minute in. Getting kicked in the face sucked, actually. But he pressed on, because what else was he supposed to do? Give up?  
After a swift jab to the ribs he decided that actually yeah, that is what he was gonna do, “You know what, I’m gonna train on my own.” He said, stopping the practice spar.  
“What do you mean you’re gonna train on your own?” Kai asked, “How are you supposed to learn how to fight if you’re only ever punching a dummy!”  
“Actually he hasn’t landed a hit on Jay this session,” Cole snickered at his own joke.  
“Hey! I’m not a dummy!”  
“Guys,” Kai said, “Focus!”  
“Kai is right,” Zane said, “You’re not going to learn how to fight properly without an opponent.”  
“I’ll fight you guys later!” Lloyd said, “I just- don’t feel like it right now!”  
“Yeah? What happens if you ‘don’t feel like it’ when you’re facing Lord Garmadon!” Kai said  
“I don’t know! That's not gonna happen.”  
“You’re just upset because you got hit, big deal! You need to toughen up!”  
“I’m plenty tough! I’m just smart enough to know when I shouldn’t fight someone, unlike you!”  
“Maybe you two should-” but Cole was cut off.  
"You have a responsibility as the green ninja, stop acting like a kid!" Kai yelled.  
"I _am_ a kid!" Lloyd couldn't take this anymore. He ran back to his room, never more grateful it was his alone. He could feel the tears welling up. None of them understood what he was going through- none of them ever could. But there wasn't any time for him to try and figure himself out. He had to learn and train and push himself to be ready for the final fight and shouldn't it be good that the body he has now is stronger and faster and tougher and older and why did he still feel just like a scared little kid! He's not a kid anymore he can't be he can't afford to be.  
The tears didn't fall. He didn't know why. He'd never been more overwhelmed in his life so why wasn't he crying? He always hated how easily he cried, it made him feel weak. Now, though, when the tears weren't coming, he understood. Without them there was nowhere for the feelings to go and it felt like they were eating him from the inside. How is he supposed to handle being the green ninja when he can't even handle being himself?

\------

"What’s his deal?" Kai asked, still frustrated, "Doesn't he realize the final fight could happen any day now? He's not ready, he needs to take this more seriously!"  
Sensei Wu stepped forward, "Kai, it is you who does not realize. My nephew isn't like you. He may look older now, but he still has the soul of a ten year old. He doesn't have the extra years of experience you possess. He may be the green ninja, but he's still a child. He's only had this new body for a week now, give him time."  
"But Sensei," Zane said, "Lord Garmadon is still out there. Do we have time to give him?"  
"For all of our sakes," Wu said, "I hope we do."


End file.
